France steps up security following Canada terror attacks

Fight against terrorism/Vigipirate Plan – Communiqué issued following the Council of Ministers’ meeting

Paris, 29 October 2014

The Interior Minister made a statement on the strengthening of the vigilance measures made necessary by the international situation, to better avert any potential concerted or isolated acts of terrorism that might occur in France.

In the framework of the Vigipirate Plan (1), and given the recent attacks perpetrated in Canada and the United States against uniformed soldiers and police, instructions have been given to national police and gendarmerie staff to be vigilant, in order to guarantee not only the surveillance of public spaces but also their own protection.

The presidents of the parliamentary assemblies have been made aware of the need for enhanced measures to control access. Those responsible for emblematic public and private buildings will take similar measures, under the supervision of the ministries or local authorities responsible for guarding and supervising them.

The préfets [high-ranking civil servants] are tasked with regularly assessing the implementation of the instructions given for applying the Vigipirate Plan, and with informing the ministers concerned of possible adaptations of the security measures to local contexts. They will raise awareness among elected representatives about actions to take in their areas of responsibility, including measures to protect local police.

The diffuse nature of the threat, which may arise from isolated individuals with no sophisticated logistics, makes the use of the national freephone tipoff hotline (0800 005 696) more necessary than ever, to allow support to be organized for families facing the risk of some of their members engaging in radical violence. This hotline also enables evidence to be obtained, in order to identify and dismantle recruitment networks.

Alongside the specialized services and police and gendarmerie units, a calm and vigilant approach and active efforts from everyone are necessary to the effectiveness of the collective battle against new forms of terrorism and in order to protect the values of the Republic./.

(1) Under the Vigipirate Plan, the security forces seek to avert threats and take preventive counter-terrorism measures.